Alphabet Energy Awarded $1.48M In SBIR Phase II Contracts

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Early-stage company with breakthrough thermoelectric technology for waste-heat recovery continues course toward commercialization with award of two SBIR Phase 2 contracts for delivery of field-test products to Air Force and Army.

The efforts of Alphabet’s outstanding team over the past eighteen months, with the U.S. government’s support, have resulted in an enormous amount of technology derisking.

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Alphabet Energy Inc., maker of thermoelectric materials for waste-heat recovery, has secured two Phase II contracts from both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs. The contracts, valued at $750,000 and $730,000, respectively, are for delivery of products that generate electricity from waste heat for use by the Air Force and Army in specific field applications, including mobile auxiliary power generation aimed at boosting energy efficiency throughout the armed services’ front-line operations. Reducing energy use is a top priority for the United States military; improving energy efficiency in the military’s battlefield operations would lead to fewer costly and dangerous fuel resupply missions.

“The efforts of Alphabet’s outstanding team over the past eighteen months, with the U.S. government’s support, have resulted in an enormous amount of technology derisking. The Army and Air Force are recognizing this through their Phase II awards and we’re excited to deliver prototypes to them and to our non-military customers for pilot testing during this next phase,” said Matt Scullin, Alphabet’s CEO and founder.

The new contracts are based on successful completion of goals set for Phase 1 of the projects, awarded last year, which included fabricating multiple inch-sized thermoelectric devices using 150 mm semiconductor technology. The company’s ability to manufacture its products “fablessly” has allowed it to efficiently leverage government financing and meet milestones quickly. Alphabet Energy continues to gear up for customer pilots in 2012 with commercial partners in industries that include transportation, manufacturing, power generation, and aerospace. The Department of Energy continues to evaluate Alphabet’s technology for possible extension to a Phase 2 contract after similarly successful completion of Phase I contracts.

Alphabet Energy’s goal is to become the leader in the potential $100 billion global market for sales of its products for the conversion of waste heat into electricity, part of a $75 billion/year market for energy efficiency and a $6 billion/year market for industrial equipment. The company is positioned to deploy what it believes will be the lowest-cost waste-heat-to-power products for recovering wasted energy from exhaust gas. The technology has the ability to offset as many as 500 million metric tons of carbon per year, and could help generate thousands of jobs in the United States.

What are thermoelectrics?
Thermoelectric materials are semiconductors that, when placed in a temperature gradient, generate electricity in the solid state—with no moving parts. Alphabet’s breakthrough thermoelectric materials can be used to turn heat directly into electricity in applications such as metals refining, cement and glass production, power generation, automotive, aerospace, and military. The company’s proprietary thermoelectric technology is the only known solution that can lend itself to massive scale, utilizing abundant materials and existing, inexpensive manufacturing know-how. The output range of power generation systems incorporating Alphabet’s thermoelectrics can range from microwatts to megawatts.

About Alphabet Energy Inc.
Alphabet Energy is commercializing a breakthrough, inexpensive waste-heat recovery technology developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Alphabet aims to offer the most inexpensive and scalable heat-recovery technology available, and to tap into the potential $100 billion market for the conversion of waste heat into electricity, with the possibility of offsetting as many as 500 million metric tons of carbon per year. Alphabet Energy won four awards at the 2009 Cleantech Open business competition: runner-up, National Prize; winner, National People’s Choice Award; winner, California region Energy-Efficiency Prize; winner, California region Sustainability Prize. For more information, see http://www.alphabetenergy.com and @alphabetenergy on Twitter.